


Desert Talks

by stellarfluid



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: 2017 FF7 Secret Santa, F/F, Oh well!, i dunno if its really gonna work out., im so bad at tags! i'll probably add more later, really though; im trying to make it so you can see them as best friends and/or gfs.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 08:23:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13096197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarfluid/pseuds/stellarfluid
Summary: Aerith and Tifa spend a long night at the Cosmo Canyon bar talking about their feelings and stuff.





	Desert Talks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [belderiver](https://archiveofourown.org/users/belderiver/gifts).



> happy holidays! this is for the 2017 final fantasy vii secret santa and uhhhhh im writing it two days before its due because i am a fool. anyways, aerith and tifa's friendship/relationship has so much potential and i know the two of them really deserve each other as friends (or more than that if you'd like! i dunno, man) so i hope this little story will do them justice!
> 
> also uhhh i can't remember if cosmo canyon would be considered a desert so F*CK IT its a desert now.

Cosmo Canyon was really nice. Aerith absolutely loved it there.

She loved the warm desert air and the clear, blue sky. She would stare up into the sky (not at the desert sun, of course - she wasn't an idiot) and get lost in it for minutes on end, smiling to herself as she remebered the days when she feared it.

She also loved how close she felt to the Planet there; how she could feel how freely the natural life force of the Planet flowed beneath the groud. She knew the people of this place did their best to take care of and appease the Planet. It really was a lovely place.

She noticed Tifa seemed to love it, too. The two of them felt at home there. They walked together through the village, pointing out places where you could see the Planet's beautiful life showing through - like goregous rare flowers or plants that grew there, or small but lively springs that ran through the desert.

 

"This is where AVALANCHE was founded," Tifa said after a while. "Did you know that?"

"Oh! No, I didn't!" Aerith clapped her hands together. "But I can see why. This is one of the few places where the Planet hasn't been affected much by the use of Mako. It doesn't seem like they use Mako at all here!"

"Yeah," Tifa said softly, and smiled.

Aerith looked at Tifa, and noticed that she didn't look as she normally did. She looked... tired. Sad, almost. It was concerning. "Are you okay?" Aerith asked, tilting her head as she did so.

Tifa made a confused face back at her. "What do you mean?" she asked. Aerith shrugged.

"I dunno!" She knew that there was something on Tifa's mind, but didn't want to try and force it out of her. That'd be rude. And intrusive. And would be a kinda sucky thing to do all around. So she made a silent resolve to herself right then and there to try and help Tifa feel better about whatever it was. "Do you wanna find a place where we can, like, I dunno, hang out?"

Tifa blinked. "Um?" she said. Aerith tried to ignore the anxiety starting to run up her spine. She really wanted to be friends with Tifa. She'd be so angry if she were too mess it up now.

"Like... a restraunt, or a bar or something! So we can just sit. And talk," she said, still speaking as cheerfully as ever. Tifa smiled.

"Yeah, okay," she said replied, and Aerith suddenly felt very relieved. "That'd be nice, actually."

 

The two continued their trip through the little desert town, this time looking for a place where they could sit and have a conversation. Aerith was happy they were doing that. She honestly really loved Tifa's company and wanted nothing more than to really good friends with her. Best friends, even. She was a bit disappointed that they hadn't gotten the chance to talk much one-on-one since they had started on this journey. She wanted to fix that.

The two women eventually found a little bar on the upper floor on an inn. It was a very small place, but it had a lovely, warm atmosphere. It was dimmly lit, and actually seemed quite romantic. Aerith elbowed Tifa softly in the ribs. "It's like we're going on a date!" she joked, and Tifa laughed.

The two sat and a table and ordered some drinks. Aerith continued to notice how Tifa stared down at the table, her eyes pensive, deep in thought. She was drumming her fingers softly on the table without really thinking about it. Aerith watched her do this for a while, then finally built up the courage to say something to her. "Hey, Tifa?" she said.

"Hm?"

"Look, I can tell there's something on your mind. And I know we're not super close friends yet, but," she placed her hand on top of Tifa's, "I want you to know you can talk to me about things. Okay?" Tifa smiled.

"Yeah, okay." She took a deep breath. "Do you want me to start now?"

"I wouldn't want to force you!" Tifa smiled again.

"I was thinking about AVALANCHE," Tifa admitted. "I mean... what it is now, and what it used to be..." she sighed, "and what it does. What it has done. Does... that make sense?"  
"Um," Aerith said softly, "I think?" Tifa sighs again, this time in a jokingly-annoyed sort of way.

"Seriously, though," she said. "I've begun to wonder if joining AVALANCHE was a good idea in the first place."

"What do you mean?"

Tifa stared down at her hand, which was still being held by Aerith. "I-- We-- Hm." She bit her lip, trying to find the right words. "As members of AVALANCHE," she then said, "we are-- or, we were--" she took another deep breath, "I don't know what tense to use anymore. What I'm trying to say is, we're trying to do what's right for the Planet, right?"

"I mean, that's the impression I've been getting," Aerith answered with a shrug, "but I don't know."

"Yes. Well... what's been bothering me is... what if we're not doing what's right?"

Aerith stared at her for a moment. "What do you mean?"

Tifa slipped her hand out from under Aerith's, and Aerith assumed that meant that she didn't want to hold hands anymore. But as Aerith pulled her hand away, Tifa grabbed it again, and held it so their fingers were entwined. She squeezed Aerith's hand and continued.

"Is... are AVALANCHE's methods really going to help the Planet?" she asked. "You know, bombing reactors, attacking Shinra labs and buildings, is it really going to do any good?" Aerith frowned, but Tifa wasn't finished yet. "After what happened to Biggs, Wedge and Jessie," her voice cracked as she said the names of the fallen members, but she continued anyway, ignoring it, "ever since I haven't been able to help thinking that all AVALANCHE has been doing is instilling fear." She tried to look Aerith in the eye. "I've done a good job at ignoring it. It's been a while now since that's happened and I'm still functioning fine and everything. But the thought's still there. Was AVALANCHE really helping the Planet? Or were we just hurting and scaring people for a failing cause? Were we really doing the right thing?"

For a moment, Aerith didn't know what to say. She took her other hand and cupped it around her and Tifa's as she tried to find the right words. "Maybe you're not doing the right thing," she admitted finally, "but you're doing what you think is right, right? You're trying to do what's right. And you're learning from your mistakes! That's good!"  
Now it was Tifa's turn to tilt her head as she thought about what the other was saying. "You're doing your best," Aerith continued, "and even though right now it may seem like you're only getting bad results, there are definitely good things coming out of it too. If it weren't for AVALANCHE, we wouldn't be able to form this funny little family we have now, would we?"

Tifa laughed. "Alright," she said, "that's true."

"And besides," Aerith is saying, "now we-- now AVALANCHE is working towards something much greater than stopping Shinra. We're going to save the entire world together, just you watch!" Tifa laughed some more.

"Alright, alright," she said.

Their drinks came. After another moment, Aerith began a different conversation. "Hey, Tifa," she says, hesitating for a moment. "Okay," she said, "you don't have to answer this if it's too personal, but why did you join AVALANCHE?"

Tifa smiled. "It... it's not too personal at all," she assured Aerith, "but I'm honestly a bit embarrassed by it. I, uh, joined AVALANCHE because I wanted to get back at Shinra."  
"You wanted to... get back at Shinra?"

"I was really young at the time," Tifa explained, "and Shinra had taken everything from me. I wanted revenge, that's all."

"Huh."

Tifa laughed a bit. "Hey, don't judge me, I had great love for the Planet back then, too. It just wasn't the main reason why I joined. After I was apart of Shinra for a while, though, protecting the Planet did become my main cause."

"I wasn't judging you! I understand, really. Shinra has done some pretty nasty stuff. They've hurt me, too." Tifa was quiet for a moment. "I'm really glad you joined, though," Aerith said. "Not becuase of why you joined, or what AVALANCHE does. I'm glad becuase I got to meet you. If you didn't join, I wouldn't have gotten that opportunity."

Tifa's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to speak, but Aerith cut her off. "I really like you, Tifa. You're a great person, and we have a lot in common! I've been wanting be close friends with you for a long time."

Tifa was quiet for a moment, before saying. "I-I feel the same way about you."

A rush of happiness flooded Aerith's body. She was so glad Tifa liked her - she had been so afraid that she hadn't! She grabbed Tifa's hands and held them tightly and excitedly. "Tifa," she said, "I'm going to be your best f*cking friend ever."

"Watch your language!" Tifa laughed squeezing Aerith's hands.

Aerith loved making her laugh.

**Author's Note:**

> i love my girls so much!! i hope you like this little story, and merry christmas!! <3


End file.
